Foreword Statement from Ozzy O’Shea CC Leicestershire County Council Lead Member for Highways, Transportation and Flooding Modern-day traffic congestion is a blight on all our lives - and I know this is particularly keenly felt in Melton Mowbray. That is why the County Council has developed an interim Melton Mowbray Transport Strategy (MMTS) and we recently sought the views of the public on this during a six-week engagement exercise. Most of the evidence and proposals set out in the strategy are based on pre-COVID-19 assumptions and it’s important to stress that the fundamental requirement for this strategy document doesn’t change as a result of the pandemic. However, what we will be doing is reviewing any potential, longer-term societal and economic changes which emerge. As the interim strategy was being developed, it became clear that, at present, the congestion in Melton Mowbray, particularly in the town centre, is impacting on residents’ lives, the efficiency of its businesses and is also limiting the town’s ability to grow (to provide new homes and jobs). One of the key elements of the MMTS is the proposed Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (MMDR). At least £50m has been earmarked by Government towards its delivery, and we are well advanced with work on the North and East sections of the route. (A plan showing the northern, eastern and southern sections of the MMDR is shown in Figure 22 on Page 63.) We are making progress towards being ready to start building the MMDR. However, as welcome as it is, the distributor road on its own is not sufficient to support the planned growth of the town and surrounding area as set out in the adopted Melton Local Plan. The MMDR needs to form part of a wider package of measures to help address the town’s existing traffic problems, support the growth of the town and to achieve wider objectives, including environmental improvements. The interim MMTS includes initial measures that are needed to support the delivery of the MMDR; setting out plans for re-classifying and re-signing town roads as well as re-routeing lorries to encourage as much traffic as possible to use the distributor road. However, we intend the final strategy to go much further than this. The interim strategy provides a clear framework for putting these other measures in place, by setting out the key areas we intend to explore in more detail during the next phase of work to develop the strategy, including: • Proposals for improving the walking and cycling network; • The possibility of a 'bus hub' - a type of mini-station - to support passenger transport provision; • Possible changes to town centre roads to increase public space and improve walking and cycling facilities; • Working with other parties to achieve improvements to the town's rail services. The interim strategy also provides us with the evidence needed to secure developer contributions and other possible government funding to improve the town's transport network, now and in the future. During the public engagement on the draft interim MMTS, held between January and March 2021, we received a wide range of feedback, which has been invaluable to completing the interim strategy and will continue to assist us during the next stage of work. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took the time to respond. CONTENTS 1. Introduction ........................................................................ 3 1.1. An introduction to Melton Mowbray ........................................................................... 3 1.2. The purpose of having a strategy ............................................................................... 4 1.3. Why we have developed an Interim MMTS................................................................. 5 1.4. Evidential Basis for the Interim MMTS........................................................................ 6 1.5. The MMTS and COVID-19 ............................................................................................ 6 2. Current traffic and transport issues in the town ............. 7 2.1. Road Traffic Conditions............................................................................................... 7 2.2. Passenger Transport ................................................................................................. 20 2.3. Cycling and Walking .................................................................................................. 25 3. Future challenges and opportunities ............................. 28 3.1. Overview..................................................................................................................... 28 3.2. Theme 1: Growth........................................................................................................ 28 3.3. Theme 2: Environment............................................................................................... 37 3.4. Theme 3 – Access to Opportunities.......................................................................... 43 3.5. Theme 4 – Health and Wellbeing............................................................................... 52 3.6. Theme 5 – Transport Funding ................................................................................... 55 4. The Interim Strategy......................................................... 59 4.1. Overview..................................................................................................................... 59 4.2. Proposal A - The Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (MMDR)................................. 59 4.3. Proposal B – Reclassification and Re-signing of Roads in and around Melton Mowbray ..................................................................................................................... 68 4.4. Proposal C – HGV Routeing Strategy ....................................................................... 73 4.5. Alignment with Key Issues........................................................................................ 76 5. Development of the ‘Full’ Strategy ................................. 79 5.1. Overview..................................................................................................................... 79 5.2. Workstream 1 – Town Centre Highway Network...................................................... 80 5.3. Workstream 2 – Melton Mowbray Cycle Network .................................................... 92 5.4. Workstream 3 – Melton Mowbray Road Passenger Transport Network................. 94 5.5. Workstream 4 – Town Centre ‘Bus Hub’................................................................... 96 5.6. Workstream 5 – Bus Stop Infrastructure.................................................................. 98 5.7. Workstream 6 – Passenger Rail Services................................................................. 98 5.8. Workstream 7 – Melton Mowbray Railway Station ‘Step-Free’ Accessibility......... 99 1 5.9. Workstream 8 – Town Centre Parking Provision ................................................... 100 5.10. Workstream 9 – Emerging and Future Transport Technologies......................... 101 5.11. Workstream 10 – ‘Behaviour Change’ Initiatives................................................. 102 5.12. Workstream 11 – Local Traffic Management Issues............................................ 103 5.13. How the workstreams will help realise aspirations for the full MMTS................ 103 5.14. Delivering the Workstreams.................................................................................. 106 6. Implementation of the Strategy..................................... 107 6.1. Overview................................................................................................................... 107 6.2. Completion of the Interim MMTS Document .......................................................... 107 6.3. Delivery of the Interim MMTS Proposals ................................................................ 108 6.4. Completion of the Full MMTS.................................................................................. 109 6.5. Interim Approach to Funding .................................................................................. 112 6.6. Monitoring and Review ............................................................................................ 115 List of References ............................................................... 117 2 1. Introduction 1.1. An introduction to Melton Mowbray 1.1.1. Melton Mowbray is situated in a predominantly rural area in the north-east of Leicestershire, between Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and Rutland. It is one of Leicestershire’s principal market towns and the administrative and economic centre of Melton Borough, as the Borough’s principal retail and service destination for both local people and visitors. 1.1.2. At the time of the 2011 census, the town had an estimated population of 27,158, comprising just over half the population of Melton Borough (50,376). Key surrounding settlements include Leicester (approx.13 miles to the south- west), Loughborough (13 miles to the west), Nottingham (17 miles to the north-west), Grantham (14 miles to the north-east) and Oakham (9 miles to the south-east), as shown in Figure 1. 1.1.3. The town is nationally recognised as the “Rural Capital of Food” and the only place in Leicestershire to pioneer a Food Enterprise Centre, as detailed in the Leicester and Leicestershire LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan (SEP)1. In relation to this, the town is the base for numerous